Cyber Power: Attack and Defense Lessons from Land, Sea, and Air Power
Abstract
Cyberspace is the newest warfighting domain, but heretofore it has been the nearly exclusive purview of technical experts, not warfighters. Consequently, much of the work on cyber power theory has eschewed the traditional concepts and lexicon of war in favor of language more familiar to technical experts in information communications technology. This convention stunts strategic thinking on cyber power and creates a barrier to cyber powers integration into joint military operations. For these reasons, this study advances the beginnings of a cyber power theory rooted in the lessons of war experience in the traditional warfighting domains of land, sea, and air. By examining cyber power through the lens of fundamental concepts like initiative, terrain, speed, and mobility cyberspaces similarities to the other warfighting domains emerge. Cyber power combines qualities inherent to land, sea, and air power making cyber power simultaneously distinct from, and analogous to, all three. This unique synergy is what separates cyber power from these other forms of military power. At the same time, similarities between cyberspace and the physical domains lets cyber power theory take lessons from past war experiences, as well as from the military theories of those like Carl von Clausewitz, Sir Julian Corbett, Sir John Slessor, and John Boyd. By rigorously observing when the analogies between cyberspace and the other domains apply and collapse, this study gleans some lessons from traditional experience and theory on how to seize the advantage on attack or defense in cyber power.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- AD1019395
Entities
People
- E. Iii L. Bonner
Organizations
- Air University